He accepted that the BBC "got it wrong on election night" after studying a detailed dossier prepared by Central Office.

His climbdown, at a meeting on Tuesday with Theresa May, the Tory Party chairman, was revealed to the shadow cabinet last night. She told members that the BBC had agreed the coverage was tilted too much against the Tories.

She faced a barrage of complaints from several frontbenchers who accused her of failing to secure a written and public apology.

One said: "We seemed to be letting the BBC off the hook with a mild statement of regret and acceptance that they had got it wrong. That is not good enough."